Comminuting apparatus such as grinders and chippers are used to mechanically grind, chip or shred material to reduce the size of the material. Such apparatus may be used to reduce the size of material such as tree limbs, stumps or brush (i.e., arboraceous material) in land-clearing, municipal waste, composted materials or other vegetation, building materials or recycled material (e.g., car tires and the like). One common type of reducing machine is known as a horizontal grinder. A horizontal grinder may include a power in-feed mechanism that forces larger material (e.g., wood-based material such as tree trunks, tree branches, logs, etc.) into contact with a rotating comminuting drum. The larger material is contacted by reducing elements such as teeth, grinding elements or “knives” carried by the comminuting drum and portions of the material are forced past a fixed shear edge defined by an anvil of the horizontal grinder.
Upon passing the shear edge of the anvil, the material enters a chamber in which the material is further reduced by the reducing element carried by the comminuting drum. Once the material within the chamber is reduced in size, the material is discharged. Upon passing through the chamber, the reduced material is typically deposited on a discharge conveyor that carries the reduced material to a collection location. An example of a horizontal grinder is disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0242677, which is incorporated herein by reference for all relevant and consistent purposes.
A continuing need exists for comminuting apparatus that maintain proper clearances between shear edges without replacement of comminuting components.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.